Can turner



June 13, 1939. E LAXO cm TURNER Filed June 25. 19s? 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENTOR Ed Laaco A TTORNE VS June 13,1939; E. LAXO 2,162,457

CAN TURNER Filed June 23, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 II III IiIIII 29 INVENTOR. L'd Laxo,

BY M'i A TTORNEYS.

E. LAXO CAN TURNER June 13, 1939.

Filed June 25, '19s"! 3 Shee ts-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR. 17d L ax 0,

A TTORN E YS.

Patented June 13, 1939 CAN TURNER Ed Laxo, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Owens-Illinois Can Company, a corporation of Delaware Application June 23, 1937, Serial No. 149,865

8 Claims.

The present invention relates to a can bodyturning device designed for attachment'to or incorporation with the discharge end of a cooler chain conveyor leading from a can body-making machine for the purpose of changing the relation of the axis of the can bodies with respect to their line of motion in order that the can bodies may be discharged from the cooler chain conveyor properly oriented for transportation to a machine for applying the can bottoms.

The practice heretofore in turning the can bodies has been to position a bumper or pivot pin in the path of movement of the oncoming axially aligned can bodies in such a manner that the for- ,15 ward rims of the can bodies successively strike the pivot pin, the kinetic energy possessed by the can bodies due to their motion on the cooler chain being relied upon as the sole agent or force in turning the can bodies. Such an arrangement hasnot been entirely satisfactory in that the can bodies are not always suiiiciently spaced on the cooler chain topermit the can body being turned on the pivot pin to clear its immediate successor. Due to the fact that the moment a particular can body strikes the pivot pin its linear travel is immediately terminated, the next succeeding can body is afforded an opportunity to "catch up, so to speak. with the can body undergoing turning so that. upon turning of the latter, there-is a collision between the two can bodies, thus destroying proper orientation of both can bodies and resulting in a consequent jamming of the machine.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a can-turning device employing a bumper or pivot pin upon which the can bodies are turned and in which there is incorporated a positive means for engaging the can bodies immediately prior to their coming'into contact with the pivot pin to impart thereto an impetus which impels A0 and directs the bodies toward the pivot pin and also impels the bodies in their turning movement on the pivot pin while at the same time the normal movements of the bodies a're a'ccelerated so that each successive body undergoing tuming will be drawn clear of the succeeding body on the cooler chain. I

Other objects of the invention, not at this time enumerated, will becomeapparent as the description ensues; In the accompanying drawings; v p

' -Fig. lis a fragmentary top plan view of the discharge end of a cooler chain construction shown-ea can body-turning apparatus manufach red in accordance with the principles of the in- 5 yen tion associated therewith;

any suitable manner to the floor or foundation.

elongated guard rail 28, is provided with an in- Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially 5 along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-6 of Fig. 2; 10

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line (-1 of Fig. 2; and

Figs. 8 and 9 are diagrammatic views of the apparatus illustrating the manner in which the can bodies are turned upon a pivot pin forming a. 1 part of the present invention.

In the drawings, a portion of a cooler chain assembly In adjacent the discharge end thereof is shown. The assembly includes a pair of guide rails H and i2 between which there extends in 20 parallelism a pair of conveyor chain guides or channels l3 and I4 through which a pair of endless conveyor chains l5 and I5 extend and in which the upper can body supporting portions of the chains are slidably supported. The cans issuing from the body-making machine (not shown) rest upon the conveyor chains l5 and I5 in close proximity to each other as shown in Fig. 3 with their axes in alignment.

The ends of the guide rails l I and I2 and of the chain guides or channels i3 and M are supported upon a casting which is designated in its entirety at E6 and which includes a yoke portion ll having upstanding arms i8 and I9 provided with forwardly extending arms 20 and 2! respectively which serve to support therebetween an inverted, U-shaped portion 22 (Fig. 4) of the casting. The upper cross piece 23 of the U-shaped portion of the casting provides a table or support upon which the ends of the guides or channels i3 and M as well as the ends of the guide rails H and I2 are supported.

In order to adjust the elevation of the discharge end of the cooler chain assembly I0 (Fig. 2), means is provided whereby the height of the casting i6 may be adjusted vertically. Toward this end, the lower portion of the casting is in the form of a sleeve 24 which is slidably mounted upon a vertical support 25, the lower end of which is'anchored in a boss 26 formed on an anchor plate (not shown) which is secured in A guard rail support 21 (Fig. 2), carrying an tegrally formed sleeve 29 which is mounted on the vertical support 25 and is designed to be secured in any desired adjusted vertical position thereon by means of set screws 35. A lug 3| is integrally formed on the sleeve 29 and extends laterally therefrom. The sleeve 24 of the casting I6 is formed with a similar lug 32 overlying the lug 3| and adjustably connected thereto by means of a threaded spacing bolt 33. A set screw 34 extending through the lug 32 permits the casting I6 tobe vertically adjusted on the support 25.

A pair of friction rollers consisting of an upper roller 52 and a lower roller 4| are positioned in the path of movement of the can bodies issuing from the discharge end of the cooler chain l0 and are adapted to frictionally .engage the oncoming can bodies successively and project the same against a pivot pin 15 which is struck eccentrically by the bodies and upon which the bodies are pivoted. The rollers 62 and 4| are driven from the cooler chains l5 and I5 at the same rate of surface speed in a manner now to be more fully described.

The discharge end of the can body conveyor chains I5 and |5 pass over respective conveyor sprocket wheels 35.and 35 respectively (Fig. 6). The sprocket wheels '35 and 35 are loosely mounted upon a shaft 35 which extends across the upper end of the yoke portion I! of the casting and which has its ends secured in a pair of aligned sleeves 31 and 35 formed on the upper ends of the arms I8 and I9 respectively. The diameter of the sprocket wheel 35 is smaller than the diameter of the sprocket wheel 35 and a lesser number of teeth are provided on the former sprocket wheel than on the latter. A ring 39 which is provided with a leather face 4|) is shrunk onto the sprocket wheel 35 and the diameter thereof is slightly greater than the diameter of the sprocket wheel 35. The ring 39 and its leather face 40 constitute one roller 4| of a pair of can turning rolls as will appear presently. The leather faced roller 4| occupies a position between the two sprocket wheels 35 and 35- and, by virtue of its diameter, the surface speed thereof is greater than the surface speed of either the chain l5 or the chain l5. The roller 4| projects upwardly between the chains I5 and |5 above the level thereof and the can bodies which travel on these chains are adapted to move successively onto the leather faced roller 4| and be slightly elevated thereby from the chains I5 and I5.

Referring now to Fig. 4, the outer ends of the arms 20 and 2| have integrally formed thereon a pair of aligned bearings 42 and 43 respectively. A short transverse shaft 44 having a squared end 45 is journalled in the bearing 42. The shaft 44 is provided with an eccentric head 45 (Figs. 4 and 5) upon which is rotatably mounted an idler sprocket wheel 41 over which the chain l5 passes. The shaft 44 may be turned in the bearing 42 by means of the squared end 45 thereof to shift the position of the eccentric head 45 and vary the tension of the chain IS. A shaft 45 has one end thereof rotatably journalled in ,the bearing 43 the other end thereof being rotatably received in a socket 49 formed in the enlarged head 45 in alignment with the axis of the supporting shaft 44. The chain l5- passes over a sprocket wheel 50 which is secured to the shaft 45 and thus the shaft 48 is driven directly from the chain IS". The shaft 48 projects from the bearing 43 and carries at its projecting end a sprocket wheel 5| which is encased within a chain guard 52 (Fig.

2), the lower end of which is pivotally mounted upon the bearing 43. The upper end of the chain guard 52 is pivotally connected to a second chain guard 53, both guards 52 and 53 being pivotally connected to a short floating shaft 54 (Figs. 2 and 7). A dual sprocket wheel 55 rotatably mounted on the shaft 54 is encased commonly by the two chain guards 52 and 53. The casting I5 is provided with an upwardly inclined bracket 55 in the vicinity of the sleeve 38. The bracket 55 is provided with a slot 5! in which there is adjustably secured by means of clamping bolts 58 (Fig. 3) a casting 59 having an e1ongated bearing 50 formed thereon. A shaft BI is rotatablyjournalled in the bearing 60 and one end thereof projects from the bearing 60 and carriesa roller 52 having a fabric face 63 prelerably though, of course, not necessarily formed of muslin. The roller 52 forms a counterpart of the roller 4| and is positioned thereabove and rearwardly thereof. The other end of the shaft 5| is provided with a'sprocket wheel 64 (Fig. '7) thereon, which sprocket wheel is connected to the dual sprocket wheel 55 by means of a chain 55 contained within the upper chain guard 53. The dual sprocket wheel 55 and the sprocket wheel 5| are similarly connected together by a chain 55. From the above description of parts it will be seen that the lower roller 4| is driven directly from the chain l5 while the upper roller 52 is driven from the chain l5 through the sprocket wheel 50, shaft 48, sprocket wheel 5|, chain G5, dual sprocket wheel 55, chain 65,

sprocket wheel 54 and shaft 5|,. It will also be noted that by virtue of the floating shaft 54 (Fig. 7) the height of the upper roller 62 may be adjusted with respect to the lower roller 4| simply by adjusting the height of the supporting casting 59 and without disturbing the various chain and sprocket mechanisms which drive the upper roller.

The diameters of the respective rollers 4| and 52, and the number of teeth provided on the respective sprocket wheels 35, 50, 5|, 55 and 54 are calculated in accordance with engineering exigencies in order that the surface'speed of the two rollers 4| and 52 shall be the same.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 3, the upwardly inclined bracket 55 is provided with a rearwardly extending lug 10 having a slot 1| formed therein. A bolt 12 extends through the slot and is secured therein in any desired adjusted position by means of a clamping nut 13. A pivot pin bracket 14 is anchored by means of a set screw 15 to the free end of the bolt 12 and a bumper or pivot pin 15 projects laterally therefrom and is designed to be positioned in the path of the can bodies which issue from the cooler chain assembly In.

The pivot pin 15 is spaced from the dipping end of the cooler conveyor chains l5 and l5 and is positioned with respect to the longitudinal axis of the oncoming can bodies in such a manner that the can bodies which are picked up by the rollers 4| and 52 and which are given an impetus thereby are projected against the pivot pin with the pin engaging the forward rim thereof on one side of and slightly above the longitudinal axis of the can bodies. Engagement between the can bodies and the pivot pin 15 occurs while the bodies are positively engaged by the rollers 4| and 52 and thus, the moment the forward rims of the can bodies engage the pivot pin 15, the direction of the longitudinal axes of the can bodies commences to shift from the position of the can body in Fig. 8 to the successive positions indicated by the axes a-a, b-b, 0-0, and d.-d, in Fig. 9. It is to be noted that the rims of the can bodies strike the pivot pin 16 well inwardly thereof adjacent the pivot pin bracket 14 and that during progressive turning thereof, the rims travel outwardly on the pin until such time as the can bodies are turned or pivoted throughout an angle of ninety degrees. At such time, the rims of the can bodies clear the pivot pin indicated by the axis e--e and the bodies are discharged onto an inclined chute Tl best illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3. The chute I1 is adjustable to accommodat can bodies of varying size and consists of a pair of angle pieces 18 which are adjustably secured in slots 19 formed in a transverse bracket 80 formed on the casting I6. Side plates iii are suitably secured to the angle pieces I8 to limit the turning of the can bodies and to guide the same from the apparatus. Q1

Inasmuch as the number of teeth provided on the sprocket wheel 35* is in excess of the number of teeth on the sprocket wheel 35, as has been previously stated, the surface speed of the lower roller will be in excess of the surface speed of the chains l5 and I5. Because of the fact that the center line of the lower roller 4| occupies a position ahead of the center line ofthe upper roller 52, the can bodies will first come into contact with the lower roller and be impelled forwardly at a rate of speed greater than the rate of speed of the conveyor chains l5 and [5 After each can body undergoing turning comes into contact with the pivot pin 16, it is in engagement with bothrollers H and 62 which operate upon the rear portion thereof to accelerate turning of the can body on the pivot pin 16. The lower leather faced roller ll affords a good frictional contact while the upper muslin faced roller 62 is sufliciently soft that the can bodies are not marred by their engagement therewith. As is illustrated in Fig. 3, the space between each can body about to undergo turning in the apparatus and the next succeeding can body is immediately increased upon engagement of the can body with the lower roller 4|. As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the creation of such increased space together with the fact that the rollers 4| and 62 operate jointly upon the can body to rapidly turn the same on the pivot pin it permits the can body to be turned without the danger of collision with the next succeeding oncoming can body on the cooler chains i5 and fife.

Modifications may be resorted to within the s irit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. ,The combination with the discharge end of a can body conveyor upon which can bodies are moved progressively at a uniform rate of speed in axial alignment, of a can body-turning device for changing the relation of the axes of the can bodies with respect to their line of motion comprising a pivot pin positioned in the path of movement of said can bodies eccentrically of the common axis of the moving can bodies and against which the forward rin'is of the can bodies-are adapted to successively strike to cause the can bodies to be pivoted thereon, and means positioned between said pivot pin and the dis charge end of the conveyor for engaging the can bodies and accelerating the normal rate of speed thereof and projecting the same against said. pivot pin.

2. The combination with the discharge end of a can body conveyor upon which can bodies are speed thereof and projecting the same against said pivot pin.

3. The combination with the discharge end of a can body conveyor upon which can bodies are moved'progressively at a uniform rate of speed in axial alignment, of a can body-turning device for changing the relation of the axes of the can bodies with respect to their line of motion comprising a pivot pin positioned in the path of movement of said can bodies and against which the forward rims of the can bodies are adapted to successively strike to cause the can bodies to be' pivoted thereon, a pair of friction rollers positioned between said pivot pin and the discharge end of said conveyor adapted to engage the can bodies successively therebetween and project the same against said pivot pin, and means m driving said rollers in unison at a greater rate of surface speed than the normal rate of speed of the can bodies on said conveyor.

4. In a device for changing the relation of the axes of cylindrical bodies fed axially thereto in a recumbent position, a pair of friction rollers between which the bodies are received and through which the same pass axially, a pivot pin positioned behind said rollers eccentrically to the longitudinal axes of the bodies issuing from said rollers and against which. the forward rims of the bodies are adapted to strike. to cause the bodies to be pivoted thereon, the distances between said pivot pin and the vertical planes passing through the axes of the respective rollers of said pair being less than the length of said bodies, and means for driving said rollers at the same rate of surface speed.

5. In a device for changing the relation of the axes of cylindrical bodies fed axially thereto in a recumbent position, a pair of friction rollers between which the bodies are received and. through which the same pass axially, a pivot pin positioned behind said rollers eccentrically to the longitudinal axes of the bodies issuing from said rollers and against which the forward rims of the bodies are adapted to strike to cause the bodies to be pivoted thereon, the distances mtween said pivot pin and the vertical planes passing through the axes of the respective rollers of said pair being less than the length of said bodies,and means for driving one of said rollers.

6. The combination with the discharge end of a can body conveyor upon which can bodies are moved progressively at a uniform rate of speed in axial alignment, of. a can body-turning device for changing the relation of the axes of the can bodies with respect to their line of motion comprising a pivot pin positioned in the path of movethereof extending above the lower surface level of the moving can bodies, said bodies being adapted to be discharged onto said roller and elevated thereby, and means for driving said roller at a greater rate of surface speed than the normal rate of speed of. the can bodies on said conveyor.

7. The combination with the discharge end of a can body conveyor upon which can bodies are moved progressively at a. uniform rate of speed in axial alignment, of a can body-turning device for changing the relation of the axis of the can bodies with respect to their line of motion comprising a pivot'pin positioned inthe path of movement of saidtcan bodies eccentrically of the common axis of themoving can bodies and against which the forward rims of the can bodies are adapted to successively strike to cause the can bodies to be pivoted thereon, a pair of rollers positioned between said pivot pin and the discharge end of, said conveyor adapted to engage the can bodies successively therebetween and project the same against said pivot pin; and

means for driving one of said rollers at a greater rate of surface speed than the normal rate of speed of the can bodies on said conveyor.

8. In a device for changing the relation of the axes of cylindrical bodies fed in axial alignment thereto, a pair of horizontally disposed friction rollers between which the bodies are received and through which the same pass horizontally, one of said rollers being positioned rearwardly and above the level of the other roller, a pivot pin positioned rearwardly of said rollers and eccentrically to the longitudinal axes of the bodies issuing from said rollers and against which the forward rims of the bodies are adapted to strike to cause the bodies to be pivoted thereon, the distance between said pivot pin and the vertical plane passing through said rearwardly disposed roller being less than the length of the individual bodies whereby the bodies will remain in contact with said rearwardly disposed roller during at least a portion of its pivotal movement on said pin, and means for driving said rollers in unison at the same rate oi surface speed.

. ED LAXO. 

